A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"I know hearing that is a shock.", Christian says, briefly taking his eyes off the road to look at me. He's just told me the woman who I met in the restaurant is the very same woman who seduced him at the young age of fifteen and introduced him to BDSM.
"Just a bit." My response comes out sounding harsh which wasn't my intent. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't snap at you. I asked you to be honest, and you were. I just wasn't aware that she is still a part of your life."
"While she and my mother get together regularly for lunch, my time around her has been limited as of late. Tonight is the first time I've seen her since she stopped by my office almost a month ago for salon business." He continues driving straight before turning down a street which I'm not familiar with.
"Where are we going?", I ask.
"You want honesty so I'm going to show you honesty.", he replies.
A few moments later, we arrive at a building with the word Escala on the top. He turns into an underground parking lot and parks the R8 beside a row of other luxury vehicles. As he gets out and opens my door, I see a black Escalade park next to us. Inside is Taylor. Has he been following us all evening?
"Taylor was keeping a reasonable distance from us.", Christian answers my thoughts.
"Like a ninja.", I joke to lighten the mood. "Are you going to tell me where we are?
"Yes. This is my where I live, Escala." His hand reaches for mine, and we begin heading towards an elevator which we enter upon the door opening. "Taylor will take the next one." The elevator is larger than the one at my building, but the heat between us makes it feel much smaller. I'm leaning against the railing on the wall opposite him with anything but decent thoughts in head. "Where's your mind at Miss Steele?"
"I plead the fifth."
Before he can question me further, the elevator door slides open to an all white foyer which in turn leads into the living room. Like the foyer, the living room is decorated in all right, from the walls to the furniture.
"Welcome.", he says with his arms waving around the room. "Do you want something to drink?"
"No. I'm fine." I sway back and forth with my hands knotted together as Christian rubs the back of his neck and motions for me to sit down on the white leather sofa behind him. He blows out a breath and sits down on the sofa with me but not as close as I'd like.
"I brought you here so that we can talk and I can be completely honest with you without taking the chance of someone overhearing us." The inner turmoil raging within him is evident.
"Christian, I appreciate that you were honest with me about Elena. It's a step in the right direction for us, but you're still worrying me."
"Remember what I told you about everyone having a mask which they hide behind? I've only removed part of my mask. When Elena suggested that you visit Esclava for the house treatment, she was alluding to my subs who would go there for hair cuts and other beauty procedures."
"She thought I was your sub.", I mutter.
"Initially she may have, but once I said the word date, I'm sure she realized that you're more. Fuck, you so much more. You see, I never took my subs on dates, a fact that Elena is aware of."
"Does she still take part in the lifestyle?"
"Yes.", he answers. "You've got more questions." He once again rolls his head back on his neck before standing with his hand out for me.
"I've got so many questions that we'd be here all night and I still probably wouldn't have all of them answered. It's worth a try though. Ok, other than tending to them at Esclava, did Elena play any part in your relationships with the subs?" He once again rolls his head back on his neck.
"I would find the women, but there were times in which Elena would offer her opinion on some of them."
"How many have there been?"
"Fifteen.", he states as I try to remain composed at the number which is higher than I had imagined. "Elena made another remark tonight that stood out. I want to show you what she was talking about." He stands and offers me his hand. After I place my hand in his, he begins leading me through the living room and up the stairs. We pass by several closed doors on the second floor, but he continues leading me until we come to the one at the end of the hallway. "Before I open this door, I want you to know that I'm doing this to show you who I was, not who I am. What lies behind here is a part of my past which I'm trying to be as honest as possible about."
"Ok.", I murmur. He nods and slowly opens the door, ushering me inside. The ceiling and walls are painted in a deep burgundy while the floor is hardwood. A citrus smell is faint as I look around the room which is empty.
"An empty room? What part of your past does it play?"
"It was my playroom. I cleaned it out the night after our non-date." He moves past me and points to the right side of the room. "The bed was over there. It had chains and cuffs attached to it." I don't even have to ask in what manner those were used.
"What else was in here?"
"An assortment of sex toys such as whips, floggers, and paddles. This is where I would feel in control the most. It was my getaway." I close my eyes and I imagine what took place in here.
"Why did you remove everything?"
"Because I don't need those things. What I need is standing right in front of me." Believe him Ana.
"Obviously your friend Elena sees otherwise.", I scoff with air quotes.
"I don't give a damn about what Elena thinks. Before I met you, I thought that way of life was what was best for me, and then you showed up and turned everything upside down, making me see that maybe, just maybe, I'm worthy of normal." My eyes sweep around the empty room one last time before landing on the man who has made me feel more alive than anyone...ever. It's now my turn to reciprocate.
"One.", I demonstrate with my index finger. "I don't like Elena. I don't like what she did to you. The woman is nothing but a vile creature who took advantage of a lost boy." Bringing up a second finger, I take a step so close I can feel his breath on my neck. "And two, you're not normal. You're challenging, bold, dedicated, smart, and kind of hot."
"Kind of?", he asks with a grin that sets my insides on fire. My right hands begins edging closer to his chest, but like the previous time, it's stopped. "I have one more thing to show you." I move back as he starts unbuttoning his black dress shirt. I bite my lip at the sight of him starting to undress. My hormones are saying go for it, but my mind is saying stop him.
"Christian, I thought we agreed.", He holds a hand up to to stop me. Once he's finished with the last button and the shirt is open, I follow his eyes to his chest where I see several small scars. "What happened?"
"The crack whore's pimp enjoyed using putting his cigarettes out on me. Why use an ashtray when you've got a kid who can't defend himself?", he murmurs sarcastically. My heart breaks for young Christian as well as the adult one.
"I'm so sorry that you had to deal with that.", I whisper.
"Oh but wait, there's more." He removes the shirt, tossing it to the floor before turning around for me to see matching scars on his scars. "The guy made sure he was thorough. Now you know why I don't let anyone touch my chest." The physical pain he suffered from the scars may have went away years ago, but the emotional reminder is present in his face. He quickly picks the shirt back up and puts it on as I try to find the right words to say. "You wanted honesty, and you got it." I shakily reach for his hand in hopes that he won't push me away.
"I know opening up to me wasn't easy, but it means a lot." He nods and finally takes my hand. His response to me comes in the form of a kiss which is so intense that my legs almost give out on me. My hand becomes tangled in his hair as our bodies move out of the room and into the hallway. He breaks away for a second to stare at me in desire before sliding his hands along my hips. Just as I'm about to say screw it and give myself to him, his phone rings. It's like a bucket of water.
"It's for the best.", he murmurs while pulling his phone from his back pocket. "It's Mia." I smooth out my dress and steady my breathing as he answers the phone. "Hey Mia." From where I'm standing, I can hear her high-pitched voice. "You're going to bust my eardrum if you don't lower your voice. Lunch dinner? I'll ask Ana. What makes you think she's with me at the moment?" He laughs at something she says. "All right. Bye." Shoving the phone back in his pocket, he chuckles once more. "My parents are having a barbecue tomorrow and would like for us to attend. Mia being the ever so helpful daughter that she is volunteered to call and ask me. I think it's because she likes the sound of her own voice but to each his own. Miss Steele, would like you to go with me?"
"Yes.", I reply.
"Would you like to see the rest of the apartment?"
"Sure."
"What time did you get home last night?", Kate asks while we're getting ready the following afternoon for the Greys' barbecue.
"Around one or so." She stops midway through applying her lip gloss and grins. "Christian took me to his place." The grin widens at my last words. "Nothing happened other than a few kisses." After Christian showed me the other rooms of his apartment, we talked some more before he brought me home. I hear the door shut and turn to find Ethan standing by the door with a smile almost larger than life. "And he returns." Waking up this morning, the first thing I noticed was that Ethan wasn't home, but Kate told me that he had called last night to tell her that he was going to stay at Max's.
"Hello to you too.", he says before going to the kitchen for an apple. "Kate, don't even start with an interrogation because I'll only tell you the truth, nothing happened with me and Max last night. We talked."
"Since when does talking involve staying out half or all night? I think the two of you are holding back on me, but I'll let it slide."
"All right "Miss Tell Me Everything", since you enjoy playing twenty questions with us, what happened during your evening with Elliot?", I ask.
"We had dinner which luckily didn't involve a trip to the emergency room. Then, we made out, watched tv, had sex, and had ice cream.", she answers without skipping a beat.
"Come again?"
"Oh I did after the ice cream. If it makes you guys feel better, we did talk. It wasn't exactly G-rated, but you get the idea."
"These are not the things I want to hear from my sister.", Ethan says with his hands over his ears. "An interesting thing happened last night when Max and I were having dinner at Shiro's."
"Uh, what makes you think we want to hear about the dirty deeds you and Max did?"
"I was referring to a certain cheating bastard and his slutty girlfriend." I know instantly who he's talking about. "They were seated near us, but some plants kept him from seeing us. Unfortunately, those plants couldn't do anything to silence her whining."
"Awww, she must have broken a nail.", Kate laughs.
"Not even. They were having a very loud argument about Ana. Rachel's not happy with the fact that Bryant is going to be doing the ad work for the magazine." Wow, something Rachel and I agree on. "She seems threatened by you."
"Why would she? I'm not a threat to her.", I sigh.
"Simple answer, she thinks Bryant is still hung up on you, and I kind of think she might be on to something especially by what was said before they left."
"Which was?", Kate asks as she pulls her hair into a bun.
"Rachel said that he acts as if he regrets being with her, and his response was, "Maybe I do". He then sounded as if he felt bad for what he said and claimed that he didn't mean it."
"Bullshit. The guy fucked up royally and now wishes that he hadn't taken up with her. I knew this day would come. Steele, I bet you're thrilled to hear that."
"Not really. Like I told Bryant when he showed up at the office a few weeks ago, I feel nothing in regards to him. I could care less about him or her. That part of my life is over.", I shrug while hearing a knock at the door. "Behind that door is the guy who is helping me start the next stage." I wink and run to the door. Christian and Elliot are standing behind it with smiles aimed at me and Kate. Behind them is Mia who is trying to push past them.
"Would you two stop with the goofy grins and move.", she complains. "Hey Ana." I'm taken back when she hugs me. "Kate, hi." Stepping into the living room, she puts her arms around Kate before turning to Ethan. "Ethan, right?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Elliot and Christian told me. You and I happen to have a connection other than our siblings dating." Ethan takes a bite of his apple and raises a brow. "Max."
"You know Max?"
"We went to school together and have stayed in touch. I saw him a few weeks ago when he was having lunch with another friend, Stacy. When I noticed that he wasn't acting like himself, I pulled her to the side where she told me that she thought he was having relationship trouble. Flash forward to yesterday when I saw Stacy while out shopping, and she told me about Max's date with one Ethan Kavanagh."
"Yeah, we went out yesterday for lunch and then last night for dinner. I really like him."
"And from what I've been told, he's crazy about you.", she smiles while Christian pulls me into an embrace.
"Are we ready?", I ask, kissing him on the cheek.
"We've got bad news. One of the doctors at the hospital is sick so our mom had to go in to cover for him. The barbecue is off."
"That sucks.", Kate groans.
"It does, but it doesn't.", Elliot shrugs. "We thought we could hang out here for a while if that's ok with you guys."
"It's more than fine.", I answer as Kate and Ethan nod.
"Even though the barbecue isn't happening, Christian and Elliot were kind enough to allow me to join them. I hope I'm not intruding.", Mia says.
"Not at all.", Kate replies. "We could watch some movies and then play some board games."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Crap! The batteries in the remote are dead. I don't think we have any extra ones."
"I have some in my room that I bought for my flashlight in case the power goes out.", I tell Kate. "I'll be right back." I tug on Christian's hand and lead him towards my room. A smirk is on his face as we walk into the room. "This is my bedroom. It's nothing fancy."
"I beg to differ.", he says with his eyes on the bed. "It's where you lay your beautiful head at night. I think it's a special place. Where are the batteries?"
"In the nightstand drawer." He steps over to the nightstand just as I realize what else is placed in the nightstand, my pink vibrator. "Wait. Don't." Too late.
"Well, I found the batteries and then some." My face is as red as the walls in his playroom.
"I don't use that...a lot."
"When was the last time you used it?" I'm already embarrassed so why not tell him the truth.
"The night after our non-date.", I stammer. He looks as if he's just won the lottery.
"Where you thinking about something or someone when you used it?" I close the drawer and take a deep breath.
"You. I was thinking about you. I'm sure that makes you feel good."
"Not as good as you'll feel when you have the real thing, but Ana, there's an inaccuracy."
"What's that?", I ask.
"What's in that drawer is a lot smaller than what's in these pants." Oh fucking my!